Sarah Palin's Japanese Eyeglasses Spark Fashion Trend

GOP governor's glasses favored by forty-ish fashionistasWho makes Sarah Palin's stylish specs? I dunno, Alaska... actually there's no need for that (nor for that awful pun, but please indulge me), the GOP governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate's appealing eyewear has sparked somewhat of a fashion trend. What's more, the clear-rim MP-704 glasses she favors are selling faster than the permafrost is melting.

Palin's favored model is made by Masunaga Optical Manufacturing Co. in Japan's quiet, peaceful Fukui prefecture, coincidentally the province where the city of Obama is located.

Masunaga has sold around 12,000 pairs of the sleek, titanium frames over the past 18 months. In the 10-day period following Sarah Palin's splash into American presidential politics, however, the company has been swamped with 9,000 additional orders!

Masunaga's model MP-704 owe their light, airy look to titanium construction and an innovative way of attaching the lenses to the frame that negates the use of screws. For anyone interested in purchasing what last week's Saturday Night Live opening sketch described as "Tina Fey glasses", Los Angeles distributor Italee Optics Inc. offers the frames for approximately US$400.

We'll leave the last word on the subject to Kazuo Kawasaki, an engineering professor at Osaka University who designed Palin's peepers... "I want to say, 'Thank you,' to Ms. Palin, I want people to realize how fantastic Made in Japan technology can be."(via Daily Yomiuri Online, lead image via Periodista Digital)

EDITOR'S UPDATE: These glasses are currently unavailable.

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